Chapter 3
He had to admit, he was a little disappointed when a man called Happy came and told him that he will be the one watching out for him for the trip. He was also a little wary about the flight since he has never been on a plane before and his parents died on one too. Well, his mother did, his father was very much alive.
Perhaps Peter should have felt guilty about not considering Richard his father - after all, the man had been more active in his life than Tony Stark ever was - but Peter never knew Richard Parker that well. He was young when his parents passed away and his memories of them were foggy at best. Through the picture and letters of her mother and biological father, he felt more connected to them than he thought he ever could to his parents.
In a way, he knew Tony more than Richard even though he only met him once - a cruel twist of fate if he was being honest with himself. Then again, he didn't even know if Richard ever wanted him as his son. He must have suspected that the dates weren't adding up, must have suspected that Peter is not his son.
You don't know if Tony would want you either. The thought entered his mind and he tried to not had down that rabbit hole yet. The thought of the genius finding out about this fact and then disliking Peter made him feel like crying and whoever this Happy Hogan was, he was not going to cry in front of him.
Determined to think positively and distract himself from his problems, Peter decided to enjoy this like a vacation - even though he couldn't remember ever having one. He got his phone out of his pocket and started to record a little film of this trip for fun.
Tony briefed him in on the things he needed to know just hours ago and now, they were at an airport and he had Captain America's shield in his hands. He loved seeing the look of awe on the hero's face and he felt proud of himself, really proud, for the first time in years.
He wanted to play it cool though which, of course, ended up being awkward until Cap spoke once again.
"You've been busy."
"And you've been a complete idiot. Dragging in Clint, rescuing Wanda from a place she doesn't even wanna leave, a safe place! I'm tryna keep-" Peter has never seen Tony so frustrated, not when he told him about the events leading up to Peter's involvement and not in media. Always just the blank faces or fake smiles - except the ones in the photos his mother left him; those were real. And it was Captain America, it was Steve Rogers, a man his Dad likely considered a close friend who made him feel this way. "I'm trying to keep you from tearing the Avengers apart."
"You did that when you signed." Rogers had answered without hesitation. Peter wasn't sure how a man he barely knew could anger him so much but what the Captain said had touched a nerve. He wanted to shout, to tell the man, to make him understand that his Dad was a true hero and part of the Avengers as much as everyone else, that he was the one who gave them a home when they didn't have one because this Peter knew and he didn't need to know the man, he didn't need to read the letters in his drawer.
He knew it because it was common knowledge and everyone who had an IQ above 0 probably understood that the Stark Tower was still Tony's even if the Avengers were living in it. Heck, the new Avengers Base, wherever it was, was probably Tony's too! And Peter heard about Afghanistan, he was at the Stark Expo and the Mandarin attacks that Peter totally did not read up on from hacking into sensitive documents.
So yes, he wanted to tell him all this but he couldn't. For so many reasons, Peter couldn't, so he only stood there and tried to find the satisfaction in the fact that he at least stole his shield.
He was shaken from his thoughts by Tony's shouting and the guy in the blue suit, a suit likely also designed by Tony, couldn't look like he cared less even if he tried. And Peter listened to his Dad practically begging Rogers to come with them, to surrender, and the man didn't even seem to consider.
Peter never wanted to punch someone as much as he did now. Okay, maybe sometimes he wanted to punch Flash more.
Suddenly, an arrow sliced through the webs holding Rogers's hands together and Peter was knocked back by some invisible force. The shield was taken from him and the back of his head hurt a little but that was all.
"Hey, Mr. Stark, what should I do?" To be honest, he would be pretty contempt with going after Rogers and whoever the hell knocked him backward but he should probably do what Dad says.
"What we discussed!" He could hear the frustration in the man's voice through the intercom and was hoping it was directed at the situation, not himself. "Keep your distance, web 'em up!"
"Okay, copy that!" He shoots a couple of webs and pulls himself into the building that he sees two of the Captain's men running. He breaks the window and kicks a man with red goggles with enough force to send him flying into the railing but not enough to seriously cause harm.
He senses danger from another direction as a man tries to punch him. He catches the arm easily and notices that it is an artificial arm from metal and by the looks of it, a pretty advanced prosthesis. "You have a metal arm? That is awesome, dude!"
Sadly, he doesn't see the man he kicked previously flying towards him. The guy picks him up and Peter, used to talking during taking down the bad guys, immediately responds as he tries to struggle free of the stronghold. "You have the right to remain silent!"
He finally jumps away and follows the winged man with his webs. His head is almost torn off by the thing thrown by the guy with the metal arm but he catches it and sends it back. "Hey buddy, I think you lost this!" The man ducks just in time, unfortunately for Peter. That would have at least knocked him unconscious.
A moment later, he's being pushed by two feet but his web-shooters, as always, get him out of the situation right away. He decides he had enough of swinging around them, so he shoots webs onto the guy's hands, attaching them to the railings. "Those wings carbon-fiber?"
"Is this stuff coming out of you?" Peter managed to not roll his eyes, not that the man would have noticed. Even if it was at all possible - which thank God is not, that would be gross -, how would it come so easily through his suit? He was still interested in his original question though, so he continued.
"That would explain the rigidity/flexibility ratio which - gotta say - that's awesome," he couldn't help complimenting at the end. Whoever made those wings was pretty cool.
"I don't know if you've been in a fight before, but there's usually not this much talk."
"Alright, sorry, my bad," Peter said, not sounding apologetic in the slightest. He was in fights before, thank you very much, Birdman. He stopped armed robberies and still had time to talk in-between. He was Spider-Man, after all.
He saw the Metal Arm Guy coming to rescue his teammate but Peter swung and kicked both of them a floor below. He figured it's better to web up the metal arm and Birdman's whole torso, so the wings won't be able to spread out. He marked the job finished and decided to see how his own teammates, especially how Iron Man is doing. Maybe take a visit to Rogers in the meantime.
"Guys, look, I'd love to keep this up but I've got only one job here today and I got to impress Mr. Stark, so... I'm really sorry." Suddenly, his web stuck to a drone coming out of nowhere and he was dragged through the air and the window glass.
After he dropped to the ground, he needed a few moments to gather himself together. He was grateful for his fast healing and increased durability. The fall and the glass only caused a couple of small cuts and a little headache but both will be gone soon. He was a little disappointed in himself that he didn't notice the drone in time but he's gotten worse injuries from not paying attention, so he dismissed the thought.
Peter saw the teams assembling in a short distance from where he was and he joined his side, swinging in last-minute next to War Machine - which was crazy cool by the way.
"This is gonna end well," he hears the Black Widow say next to him sarcastically and he can't help but agree. The teams started walking towards each other and it was all too serious and tense for Peter's liking. It was awesome, yes, to be surrounded by so many heroes and fight alongside them but on the other side, those were heroes too and he held no real grudge against any of them besides Cap. He didn't want to look at them as the bad guys and he didn't want them looking at him like that either. He didn't want to hurt them, even if Tony Stark said so. Of course, he wouldn't think he would ever want him to hurt them, or hurt them himself, but if he would, Peter wouldn't hesitate to say no now.
Peter didn't like these thoughts, so he ignored them and saw that the other team was speeding up. "They're not stopping."
"Neither are we," he heard Dad say but it was a tired compromise he heard in the intercom, not a battlecry. For some reason, Peter felt relieved that he didn't want to fight either. When the teams met, he was taking a weaker-than-normal swing at the Scarlet Witch, but the woman dodged it and backed away.
Peter tried to figure out how to do this because the woman had freaking magic and his webs won't be able to hold her down. However, he had no time as the witch was moving cars and trucks to crush him. Peter managed to dodge them but it wasn't easy. The airport didn't have many places to stick his webs to, limiting his movements. He eventually made the woman believe he was defeated and he made his way to the Captain.
"That thing does not obey the laws of physics at all," he commented when the shield made its way back to Rogers like a boomerang.
"Look, kid, there's a lot going on here that you don't understand." His sounded patronizing to Peter and he was ready to snap that he understands that Rogers does not concern himself with his team at all anymore and that makes him a shit person but he doesn't. He tells him something else, remembering Dad's words.
"Mr. Stark said you'd say that. Wow." Peter aims at his legs, pulling the Captain closer like he was light as a feather, though Peter felt even with his superstrength that he was really heavy for a human. He slid towards him and kicked him, sending him into the backdoor of a truck and then landed with a roll. The shield's clanking could be heard as it created a distance between it and its owner, lying on the ground. "He also said to go for your legs."
Rogers slammed him on the head with the shield and Peter knew that was not going away for a while. He grimaced, glad the suit won't be able to display that emotion. "Stark tell you anything else?"
"That you're wrong. You think you're right. That makes you dangerous." Peter remembered the words and recited them, only partly paying attention as he took a swing and got ready to land another kick in. Somewhere, deep in his mind, he knew that now he was no match for the Captain with the lack of sticking space and the new suit he still hasn't gotten used to and his distracted mind but he just didn't care. He needed to keep this up, for Dad and for the Avengers and for the people the Captain could endanger because he doesn't know.
None of the Avengers truly seem to know what exactly happens when they are on a mission. Peter has seen the places that people now won't go to because it still shows some of the damage the aliens made, the things they don't want to be reminded of. Peter knows because he sees as half of the class goes silent each year on that day, to remember the family or friends they have lost. Peter knows because he has seen one of the girls crying in the back of the classroom and his ears picked up the silent voices telling her friends that 'Daddy can't use his legs anymore and he's so sad. He just- He was just coming home to us and it happened on the road.'
That is why they needed the Accords that Peter was half-way done reading through already. It wouldn't be hard to make alterations here and there either, he knew, logically.
His back hurt from hitting the leg of the gangway and he made hard contact with the ground. He tried to think positively, coming to the conclusion that the gunshot wound from two months ago was so much worse and he stood up, just in time to catch the falling gangway. It was possibly the heaviest thing he ever needed to hold and he did not like the way it made him tired even with his super strength but at the very least, he kept it steady.
"You got heart, kid." Glad you needed to fucking drop this on me to notice. The teenager thought bitterly, getting more and more tired from holding it up by each second. "Where're you from?"
"Queens."
"Brooklyn." Normally, he would have rolled his eyes, saying 'like I didn't know that already from history class' but now, he was just internally cursing Rogers and this stupid weight on him. When the supersoldier ran away, he reached the conclusion that he has to get this off of him alone. He sighed, willing his muscles to work for a few moments further as he pushed up the gangway in one sudden motion and ran away a few meters as it dropped back.
Peter really hoped this would end soon and of course, he jinxed it. "Holy shit!" he shouted as he noticed a member of the Captain's team turning into a giant.
"Okay, tiny dude is big now. He's big now," War Machine reported in the intercom and Iron Man's answer soon followed.
"Give me back my Rhodey."
"I got him!" Peter responded, attaching a web to the Colonel's suit and trying to pull him back by steadying himself on the bottom of a flipped over truck. Thankfully, it worked and War Machine's trusters were back on.
"Okay, anybody on our side hiding any shocking and fantastic abilities they'd like to disclose, I'm open to suggestion," he heard Dad again in his ear. The Colonel didn't seem to mind giving him a lift, so Peter stayed attached by the web. Then, he webbed the big guy's arm up, hoping to cause numbness in the arm due to decreased blood flow, then he kicked him in the face.
It didn't do much, so he kept landing punches and kicks, all the while avoiding the giant arms crushing him. He suddenly thought of how this was similar to a video game or a movie and he had an idea.
"Hey, guys, you ever see that really old movie, Empire Strikes Back?"
"Jesus, Tony, how old is this guy?" Peter tensed, hoping Dad wouldn't tell him. He might be less likely to listen to his idea and he's identity as the kid behind the mask would be known by another person who, on top of this, answers to the government. There's no way in hell it wouldn't be suspicious, Iron Man having a high-school 'intern' the same age as Spider-Man.
"I don't know, I didn't carbon date him. He's on the young side." Peter hoped his relieved sigh could be interpreted as him dodging an obstacle.
"You know that part... where they're on the snow planet... with the walking thingies?" He webbed up the gigantic man's legs and he heard his Dad add approvingly:
"Maybe the kid's onto something." Peter couldn't help but let a smile develop on his face, especially after both metal-wrapped heroes decided to follow the plan. It was successful and Peter was about to cheer but as the giant fell, one of his arms pushed the teen, sending him 'flying' to the ground.
Peter's mask slid off halfway and Peter's sensitive eyes needed time to adjust to the amount of light and color coming in. His head, now definitely creating a slight concussion from being repeatedly beaten, did barely notice the sound of someone landing beside him. They said something that Peter couldn't register and he felt his sense go off, signaling which direction they were coming from. When he tried to attack, the man held his wrists in a firm grip. It was cold and hard and so terrifying. Peter wanted to go home but Dad needed him, so he's going to stay, to help.
"Hey! Get off me!"
"Same side. Guess who. Hi. It's me," he finally heard the voice clearly and relaxed. It was Dad, he's okay. The grip was still cold but he couldn't expect him to just get out of his suit for him. They were still in the battle zone.
"Oh. Hey, man."
"Yeah."
"That was scary," he admitted but didn't know why. He felt his concussion already starting to heal and his vision cleared.
"Yeah. You're done. Alright?"
"What?"
"You did a good job. Stay down." If he did a good job, why stay down? He's perfectly fine to continue. He can help.
"No, I'm good. I'm fine."
"Stay down." For some reason, Peter knew this was the 'That's-final' voice but he pushed anyway.
"No, it's good, I gotta get him back!"
"You're going home or I'll call Aunt May! You're done!" He heard the thrusters of the suit activating and in a moment, Dad was gone.
"Wait. Mr. Stark, wait! I'm not done, I'm not..." He lifts himself barely and he can feel pain in at least three different spots. He might have a few broken ribs. "Okay, I'm done. I'm done."